Promoting traditional gastronomy to build cultural tourism and encourage the younger generation to return home: A media co-creation case study in Thailand

Co-creative media is a tool to encourage culinary storytelling about local food in Thailand. This study explored local culinary traditions and cuisine data as content in the development of innovative media. After collecting relevant data, the researcher created public media in the form of music videos to present the stories of the culinary traditions of Phitsanulok province. In the first stage, stakeholders agreed to use media to persuade the younger generation to visit Phitsanulok as a way to encourage younger visitors. The second stage sought to understand the ideas of the younger generation and what media format would appeal to them. The third stage was the co-creation process of developing a creative storyboard theme related to the content of the cuisine of Phitsanulok. In the fourth stage, the co-creative development of the culinary storytelling media included local youths and other people as participants. The fifth stage was media evaluation using quantitative techniques. The result shows that Phitsanulok has the potential to be developed into a local culinary city with an average score (X̅ = 8.74, SD. = 0.5). This result indicates that younger visitors would be encouraged to enjoy local culinary delights and become acquainted with local culture, providing them with an enriching experience, and encouraging people to return with their family and friends.